In verse 31 the Lord declared, “Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the ruler of this world be cast out.” By His death on the cross the Lord judged the world and cast out its ruler, Satan. The world is an evil system, arranged systematically by Satan. Satan has systematized all the things on earth, especially those related to mankind, and the things in the air into his kingdom of darkness to occupy and frustrate people from the purpose of God and to distract them from the enjoyment of God. This evil system, the kingdom of darkness, was judged when its ruler, Satan, was cast out by the Lord’s crucifixion in the flesh. On the cross the Lord as the Son of Man (v. 23) was lifted up in the form of the serpent (3:14), that is, “in the likeness of the flesh of sin” (Rom. 8:3). Satan, the ruler of this world, as “the old serpent” (Rev. 12:9; 20:2), had injected himself into man’s flesh. Through His death on the cross “in the likeness of the flesh of sin,” the Lord destroyed Satan, who is in man’s flesh (Heb. 2:14). By judging Satan (16:11) in this way, the Lord also judged the world, which is hanging on Satan. Hence, the Lord’s being lifted up caused the world to be judged and its ruler, Satan, to be cast out. When the Lord Jesus as the Son of Man was lifted up in the form of a serpent, He not only removed our sins and dealt with our serpentine nature but also destroyed Satan and the satanic world system that hangs upon him. Now, by His death, we are redeemed, delivered, have the divine life, and are overcoming the world.
The Gospel of John is a book of pictures or signs, showing many things related to the Lord as life. If we do not know this Gospel, we may know the Lord as life, but we simply will not know the Lord as life in all its detailed aspects. If we want to know the Lord as life in detail, we must understand the Gospel of John, which unveils life in one picture after another. For example, even the palm branches in this chapter symbolize life overcoming death, portraying a life that is victorious over death. Most palm trees grow in the desert, which signifies death. So life (palm trees) grows out of death (desert). This pictures the victory of life over death, which is the spiritual significance of the palm tree. Therefore, if we wish to understand life in detail, we must understand the Gospel of John as a book of figures.
In his Gospel John uses different figures to portray various aspects of the Lord’s death. Verse 1:29 says, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” In 3:14 the Lord Jesus said that He had to be lifted up on the cross as the brass serpent was lifted up on a pole by Moses. Now, in chapter twelve, the Lord says that He is a grain of wheat. Here we see three figures: the Lamb of God, the serpent, and the grain of wheat. The Lord’s death has three aspects. In the first aspect He was the Lamb of God taking away our sins by shedding His blood. In the second aspect He was the brass serpent that destroyed the old serpent as well as the serpentine nature within us. In the third aspect He was a grain of wheat that fell into the ground and died to produce many grains. The one death of the Lord Jesus had these three aspects: the redeeming aspect, the Satan-destroying aspect, and the life-releasing aspect. When He was nailed to the cross, He was the Lamb of God bearing our sins and shedding His blood for our redemption. This is the first aspect, and every genuine Christian is familiar with it. However, not many Christians are familiar with the second aspect of the Lord’s death, which is that on the cross the Lord Jesus was crucified in the form of a serpent in order to destroy the old serpent and the serpentine nature within our being. This is the Satan-destroying aspect. The third aspect of the Lord’s death is the life-releasing aspect. The divine life was in that little man Jesus just as life is confined in a grain of wheat. Since the life is concealed in the grain, the shell must be broken that the inward life may be released. Thus, when Christ was on the cross, He was the Lamb, He was in the form of the serpent, and He was also a grain of wheat. By one death He accomplished the threefold purpose of taking away our sins, destroying Satan, and releasing the divine life from within Him to produce many grains. Hallelujah! By His death our sins have been removed. By His death our serpentine nature has been dealt with. By His death the divine life has been released to us. No longer are we sinning and no longer are we serpentine. The divine life has been imparted into us, and we are now the many grains that have been produced out of that one grain. These many grains are good for making one loaf, which is the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 10:17), the church. Formerly, we were sinners with the serpentine nature, having nothing to do with the divine life. But by the Lord’s all-inclusive death our sins have been removed, our serpentine nature has been dealt with, and the divine life has been imparted into our being. Now we have become living grains that, composed together, become one loaf, the church. Praise Him!
Based upon this principle, if we want the church to be brought into existence, we have to die. If we want to glorify God, to have God manifested through us and glorified among us, we have to die. If we want to deal with Satan and his world, we have to die. It is by the cross that the church comes into existence, it is by the cross that God is glorified, and it is by the cross that Satan and his world are dealt with. The Lord clearly said that when He died, He would produce much fruit; that when He died, the Father would be glorified; and that when He was lifted up, He would judge the world and cast out Satan, the ruler of this world. This is so brief and simple, yet it is so profound and meaningful. These three items include everything—the church produced, the Father glorified, and Satan expelled. There is nothing else left. If we want to bring the church into existence, to glorify God, and to deal with Satan, there is no other way than the death of the cross. We always talk about the way of the church: the way of the church is the way of the cross. We always talk about how to glorify God: the way to glorify God is the way of the cross. And the way to deal with Satan, the enemy of God, is also the way of the cross. There is only one way—the cross. We must experience the cross. No matter how much people welcome us or how they welcome us, we must realize that the more they welcome us, the more we must die.
How do we die? In verse 25 the Lord tells us to lose our soul. “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life.” The first two occurrences of the word life in this verse in the Greek language mean “soul” or “soul-life.” The same word is found in 10:11, 15, 17. This is also proved by the Gospels of Matthew and Mark (Matt. 16:24-26; Mark 8:34-37). What does it mean to die and experience the cross? It simply means to deny and reject your soul, your natural life. You must lose your soul, your natural life, your self. Then the church will come into being, then God will be glorified, and then Satan will be dealt with and cast out, for he will be expelled by the church.
The Lord as a grain of wheat falling into the ground lost His soul-life through death that He might release His eternal life to the “many grains” in resurrection. We as the many grains must lose our soul-life through death that we may enjoy the eternal life in resurrection. This is to follow Him that we might serve Him, as mentioned in verse 26. Furthermore, the many grains need to be crushed and ground into flour, into powder, that they may be blended together and become the bread.